Becker's Spine Review

11 SPINE SURGEONS Dr. Muhammad Abd-El-Barr offers awake spinal fusion at Duke By Alan Condon N eurosurgeon Muhammad Abd-El-Barr, MD, PhD, is the first physician to offer awake spinal fusion to patients at Duke Spine Center in Durham, N.C., according to a Sept. 9 report from the health system. Awake procedures, performed for many years in neurosurgery, is a relatively new development in the spine field and helps surgeons ensure that no damage is being done to the patient. Duke's first awake spine surgery was per- formed in November by Dr. Abd-El-Barr at the request of a patient with spondylolisthe- sis who previously had an adverse reaction to general anesthesia. Undergoing awake spine surgery without gener- al anesthesia typically means a quicker recovery, fewer postoperative complications and a shorter hospital stay for patients. Dr. Abd-El-Barr performed the surgery with a spinal robot in a procedure he coined awake spi- nal anesthetic robotic lumbar fusion. Duke be- gan offering robotic spine surgery in early 2019. e procedure involves the anesthesia team administering a spinal anesthetic to numb the patient "from trunk to toes" and placing local anesthetic on both sides of the lumbar spine using ultrasound guidance, according to Jeffrey Gadsen, MD, associate professor of anesthesiol- ogy at Duke. Dr. Abd-El-Barr has since connected with Alok Sharan, MD, a spine surgeon in New York, an early adopter of awake spine surgery, to form a virtual study group to share best practices on the procedure. According to Dr. Sharan, there are fewer than 10 surgeons in the U.S. performing awake spinal fusion. n NASS welcomes Dr. Eeric Truumees as president By Alan Condon T he North American Spine Society has named Eeric Truumees, MD, president during its 35th annual meeting, taking place virtually Oct. 6-9. Dr. Truumees practices with Texas Spine and Scoliosis and is professor of orthopedic and neurological surgery at the University of Texas - Dell Med- ical School, both in Austin. He specializes in complex, cervical spine reconstruction and spinal trauma surgery, with research interests including interdisciplinary spine care pro- grams, outcomes analysis and spinal biomechanics. As president, Dr. Truumees has pledged to expand the society's online educational initiatives, strengthen its ties to other societies and continue to support advocacy efforts. n Renowned UK orthopedic surgeon investigated for collecting bones of 5,000+ patients By Alan Condon A U.K.-based orthopedic surgeon is being investigated by police for allegedly keeping the bones of at least 5,224 patients that he operated on, The Independent reported Sept. 29. Dr. Derek McMinn, pioneer of an innovative hip resurfacing technique, al- legedly stored the bones at his home and a business premises without a license or appropriate consent from patients. His actions breached the Human Tissue Act, which forbids the removing, storing or using of human tissue without proper consent. Dr. McMinn has been suspended from Edgbaston Hospital, a private facil- ity in Birmingham, where he performed most of the surgeries. Nurses, physicians and other operating room staff were allegedly aware of the surgeon's actions, according to The Independent. The newspaper received a leaked internal report — completed in October 2019 — from BMI Healthcare, which operates Edgbaston Hospital. BMI Healthcare has come under fire for failing to inform patients of the investigation. Dr. McMinn has performed more than 3,500 hip resurfacings and over 6,000 total hip replacements, including many surgeries on high-profile athletes, according to his website. He has presented internationally at annual meetings of various profession- al societies, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the European Federation of Orthopaedic Societies. n

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